


Conflict of Interest

by Hammerin



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Love Triangles, Multiple Characters Mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 17:11:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7370452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hammerin/pseuds/Hammerin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>con·flict of in·ter·est: a situation in which the concerns or aims of two different parties are incompatible - When the smart and sensible choice doesn't reciprocate, and the mysterious and risky decision wants more than she can give, Mercedes realizes why she was warned about creating a conflict of interest, and that her heart isn't the only thing on the line.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Conflict of Interest

"Generally, our biggest rule is going to be keeping you safe at all times. You're here to gain experience, and we want to make sure that you're learning the ropes and how the company works, but we want to make sure that's done in the safest atmosphere possible."

"I understand,' Mercedes nodded. "The most important point, for me, is to be learning in a realistic atmosphere. I know there's machinery around here, and I'm fine with that. I won't be working next to them or with them or anything, so it's okay."

Will gave Mercedes a small smile, inwardly grimacing at her naiveté. "I do mean that in terms of physical safety, but I also want you to be sure that I, as well as the other guys in the office, will be doing the best of our ability to keep you under wraps. You're going to be working with over twenty young men constantly, and these guys have no ties to Lima, Ohio. Some players are only here for a practice before we send them packing, and we want you to be safe when it comes to them. For some of those boys on the team, I've heard em' talk, girls are just numbers to them. I, firstly, want to be sure that you're never overwhelmed or tempted to be anything more than professional with the players."

Mercedes furrowed her eyebrows and bit her tongue. William Schuester was the president and founder of the Lima Legends, a semi-professional hockey team. The team had drawn some attention in the prior year by bringing home a championship title, and the once meager attendance rates skyrocketed to over three thousand fans per game. This sudden burst of fame in Lima drew the attention of all types; people who didn't know the first thing about hockey began to attend the games, and even Mercedes Jones, someone who had never been a fan of sports, made an appearance with a group of friend. Mercedes was a recent graduate of Ohio State University, where she had gotten her bachelor's degree in journalism. The Lima Legends were a relatively new team in the league, and had only managed to hire the bare necessity during their first few seasons. Until their big win, revenue had been low, and the team couldn't afford to enhance their crew. Afterwards, the joint decision was to keep the staff limited in order to build chemistry and put all monies forth to bettering the hockey team itself. They'd decided that it was time for a secretary, and whilst making the post on their poorly designed website, the front office, too, decided they were looking for a web page designer.

Mercedes had only been looking for an internship, but in seeing that the Legends were hiring, she figured it was worth a shot. Luckily for her, William Schuester was delighted that the team could get two-in-one, and called Mercedes soon after getting her email of interest. The application process had been done online, and the interview over the phone. He called her in finally during November, impressed by her maturity for only a twenty-two-year-old, William made the decision to take Mercedes on. His only problem was the fact that she was a woman, and she would be the only woman the entire team employed.

"You won't have to worry about that, Will. I can keep business and pleasure separate."

Will laughed lightly, and reached across the table to give Mercedes a handshake. "I would like to personally welcome you to the Lima Legends team. About the players, it's strictly about avoiding a conflict of interest. I didn't mean to suggest that you would do anything unprofessional, but I didn't want to run the risk of you saying you were not warned, say something did occur."

As Will began to stand, Mercedes nodded along, releasing from the handshake. "I completely understand."

The man made his way out from behind his desk and headed over to his door, where he allowed Mercedes to exit out first. The office was generally small; a three-roomed business space with a lobby located inside of the arena where the team played their games. The rooms belonged to the president, Will, the marketing and sales director, and the general manager. The latter whom Mercedes had failed to meet yet; upon arrival, Will had shown Mercedes where her office space would be: a giant desk in the center of the quaint lobby that was littered with sticky notes and forms.

"We all kind of use this area,' he warned. "We've been trying to survive these past four years without a secretary, I haven't seen the bottom of this desk in awhile."

The office space was small and cluttered with paper and beer cans, but Mercedes knew that within a week's time she would add the perfect amount of feminine touch. Walking through the narrow hallway and into the lobby, Mercedes and Will stood together again, taking the atmosphere in.

"You'll see we have a bit of a mess."

"It's fine,' Mercedes said, moving to sit in the rolling-chair behind her new desk. "Hopefully you won't mind if I put a bit of glam on it, this place could look new in a week?"

He flashed her a thumbs-up, "Whatever you want to do, Mercedes. - I know you haven't met Tyler or Sebastian yet. Tyler is, from what I know, downstairs with the coach right now, discussing some things for our game Friday night. You aren't going to interact with him as much as you are with Sebastian, though. With Sebastian, you're basically going to be shadowing him, you're going to know him better than Tyler and I combined."

"Okay,' Mercedes replied with a smile.

As if on cue, the office door closest to Mercedes flung open and a tall, dark-haired man with a light beard walked out. His shoes were off, his belt was unbuckled, and one of his hands was shoved into his pocket.

"I don't know why we chose Breadstix as a partner, we generate almost no revenue from that company, yet they beg for free tickets almost every game. I, then, drop the tickets off at will call, and they are still there at the end of the night, each time. If they are having a competition on how to fuck the Lima Legends over, they are winning, there is no competition." The young man ranted, at first into space for anyone in the office to hear, and then to Will, whom he had first laid eyes on. When Will hesitated to reply, the man raised his eyebrows in question.

"What?" He asked, before scanning the dimly lit office. He ultimately noticed Mercedes, who sat meekly behind the tall desk and offered a tiny wave. Bowing his head towards her, he turned around and walked back into his office.

Mercedes chuckled when the door shut and looked at Will with wide eyes. "Is that Tyler or Sebastian?"

"That is Sebastian. He's a character."

Mercedes nodded, "I can tell. He's comfortable here."

Will nodded, "This is a business setting, so I recommend business casual. There are a few days when I know that no fans or corporate sponsors are coming in, and we can lessen up on the dress code. You'll see Tyler and Sebastian walk in with pajama pants and bed-hair multiple times."

"Is everyone here really close?"

Will nodded, "I would say so. Tyler has been with me since before we even started the team, we used to play hockey together back in college. Our guys downstairs: maintenance, coach, trainers, our players, we maintain a good relationship with them as well, you'll see them walk in through those doors quite often,' Will pointed towards the office's entryway that led out to a pavilion overlooking the ice. "Most of those guys, asides from the players, have been with us from the start. Sebastian came on during our second year as an intern, he's a quick learner, he was perfect for the job, so he knows the route."

"How old is he again?" Mercedes asked, not realizing Sebastian had been so young.

"I want to say that he's twenty-four, but you'd have to ask him."

Everyone in the office seemed young, Will didn't look a day over forty, and since he'd mentioned college, Mercedes made the connection that Tyler was more than likely the same age. She had noticed a ring on Will's finger the moment she sat down in his office, as well as a picture of a baby on his desk. Sebastian looked too young to be married, but one could never be sure. Did the 'conflict of interest policy' extend to coworkers as well?

Sebastian's door opened once more, and he walked out in a coat of titivation. His hair was dark, almost black, and his beard looked only freshly grown. Mercedes remembered a fad known as "No Shave November" that was popular during college, and wondered if Sebastian had found himself a participant.

He was tall, over six feet, and thin. His belt was buckled this time and his shoes were on. He had a narrow face and light eyes, he looked like he was serious about business, but could also have a good laugh. Mercedes credited most of the empty beer cans to him. He wore a tight black button-up with khaki pants, Mercedes could see keys in his pockets, but they were not the only thing bulging from the area.

He offered Mercedes a denigrating smile and leaned over the desk to shake her hand. "Sebastian Smythe."

"Mercedes Jones." She affirmed, her hand going limp in his tight grip. His green eyes reflected from the small light let in by the window, and for a second, she thought she saw a shimmer of warmth.

"I was just telling Mercedes about you, Sebastian. She's a graduate of Ohio State, as well."

"Oh, you went to Ohio State?"

Mercedes's cheeks flushed, "I did. Did you- wait, you just told me you did,' she laughed awkwardly. Sebastian smiled down on her, and Mercedes could not help but to feel small.

"What'd you go for?" He asked.

"Journalism, what about you?"

"Sports advertising and business administration." Sebastian replied, looking Mercedes over. "Why are you working for a minor league hockey team when you just graduated with your degree in journalism, Mercedes? If you don't mind me asking."

Will watched the encounter silently, saying nothing.

"I enjoy the Legends, I think they gave Lima a lot of good attention. I saw the opportunity, I've got some experience with web design, I can definitely help with the writing aspects, at least. Why not?"

Sebastian nodded again, seemingly in discomfort. "Yeah…,' pointing at a sticky note on the computer, he said, "That's the password, there. The username is 'limalegends', no space. I'm about to take lunch, but when I get back, I can show you the ropes and hope you latch on. I don't want to sound rude, but we hired you to make our jobs a little easier. I'm hoping you're a quick learner, and I'm not having to take too much time out of my schedule to help you out. I don't want to seem like a douche bag, but I'm the most honest one in this office, and I'm going to tell you how it is. This is a fast-paced job, there is a lot cursing, and lot of arguing, and not a lot of apologies. You can't decide that someone said something that hurt your feelings, and let that show up in your work. You're going to be doing a lot of the client/fan interaction, and that's a place where we have to have minimal screw-ups. This isn't just a part-time job or an internship, you're a part of the team now, and I'm hoping you pull your own weight. I can be your best friend or I can be your worst enemy, and whether you like me or not is not a factor, because I get paid regardless. I know Will probably told you I'm going to be in charge of you, because he tried to tell me that bullshit as well, but I'm not here to baby-sit. I'm going to help you these first couple weeks, but after that you're going to have to just start making key decisions, maybe do some shit they taught you in journalism class? I don't know. I don't want you to not like me, but I want you to know what I expect as your superior."

Mercedes was taken back by the man's abrasiveness, and turned her gaze to Will momentarily, who had, surprisingly, been more enthralled with his phone than Sebastian's tirade.

Hesitating momentarily, she turned the computer on, and typed in the username and password. "Don't worry,' Mercedes said sweetly. "Enjoy your lunch."


End file.
